1. Fewer people murdered

5. No, I am not being sarcastic. ...

I am looking for some honest input.

Trying to pass another assault weapons ban at this time, considering the current makeup of Congress, is a very lofty goal and is likely impossible. It is my opinion that far more might be accomplished by trying to improve existing federal firearms law which would be easier to achieve.

27. Prove that any firearms ban has ever lead to "fewer people murdered".

You can't because the two ( firearms policy and murder rate) are not directly correlated. It has more to do with the level of violence present in a country or culture rather than whether guns are obtainable. People who want to murder don't just decide to quit if their first idea fails. But you knew all of this already. You just want to legislate based on your feeling that guns are icky and if I don't need one, no one else does either.

18. I believe that at this time another assault weapons ban is politically impossible. ...

For one thing it would never pass the Republican controlled house. An assault weapons ban would be difficult to pass in the Senate as many Democratic Senators come from gun friendly areas of our nation and voting for it would simply be political suicide. The current leader of the Senate, Harry Reid, has expressed little interest in passing this law.

While few people outside of the gun culture realize this, rifles that fit under the definition of assault weapons ARE used for hunting.

Sporting ARsby Dick Metcalf • January 3, 2011

Virtually every type of centerfire sporting rifle in existence started off as a military weapon. The classic lever-action deer gun, long the most popular type of hunting rifle in America, began as the Henry Rifle of the Civil War era, designed to bring rapid fire against the enemy. The lever-action was succeeded in universal popularity by the bolt-action–the standard hunting rifle of today–which we owe to Paul Mauser’s classic battle-rifle design.

***snip***

Technically speaking, it makes all the sense in the world that proven military rifle designs should be inherently appropriate for hunting use. All successful military rifles are specifically designed for rugged, reliable function and durability under extreme conditions, which translates automatically into use under even the most extreme field-hunting use. They’re also designed for reasonable weight, portability and ease of fast handling by people who may be carrying other heavy gear and wearing bulky clothing. They have an inherent capability for follow-up shots, and they must be deadly accurate against targets of the same basic dimensions and at the same distances typically encountered by hunters.

The AR in particular is a superb hunting design, due primarily to its lightweight synthetic and corrosion-resistant alloy construction. And, it’s surprisingly accurate, due primarily to the fact it’s an “assembled” gun rather than a “fitted” gun. Its major components essentially snap together. Unlike a traditional bolt-action rifle, which generally requires close-tolerance, hand-work receiver/barrel mating and precise bedding into the stock for maximum accuracy and consistency, a hunting-grade (or even competition-grade) AR can readily be assembled from modular components literally on a kitchen table, by anybody with a modicum of ability to use relatively simple hand tools. Likewise, a service-grade “standard” AR15 can readily be brought up to minute-of-angle performance by selective replacement of key modular elements with match-grade parts. And, once tuned, an AR stays that way, due to the fact that its entirely nonorganic components (nonwood) are not susceptible to environmental distortion (warpage or swelling). All an AR really needs is a quality barrel to shoot as well as the best hunting rifle you can buy.

Hunting versions of the AR design, in a wide variety of chamberings, are currently offered by several manufacturers. One of the early leaders in AR hunting rifle and sport configurations has been ArmaLite, which offers both lightweight and heavy-barrel configurations in .223 (M-12A series) for long-range varmint and predator hunting, .308-chambered versions (AR-10 series) for deer hunting and competition and even a super-accurate .300 Remington Short-Action Ultra Mag (AR-10T Ultra), which is as good an elk, moose or general heavy game chambering as you can get. ...emphasis added

A common argument against the use of a "black rifle" is that there is no legitimate reason to hunt game with a rifle holding 20 rounds. In most states that allow the use of such rifles for hunting the magazine capacity is limited. Florida sets a magazine limit of five rounds in any semi-auto rifle used while hunting deer.

In Florida wild hogs are considered pests as they do a lot of damage to the environment. They are often hunted and, when prepared properly, their meat is very tasty.

Wild Hog

The wild pig (Sus scrofa), also called the wild hog, wild boar or feral pig, is not a Florida native and may have been introduced by Spanish explorer Hernando DeSoto as early as 1539.

***snip***

Hunting

Wild pigs are legally defined as wildlife and are the second-most popular, large animal hunted in Florida (second only to the white-tailed deer).

On private property with landowner permission, wild pigs may be trapped and hunted year round using any legal to own rifle, shotgun, crossbow, bow or pistol. There is no size or bag limit, and you may harvest either sex. Also, no hunting license is required. A gun and light at night permit is not required to take wild hogs with a gun and light on private lands with landowner permission.
http://myfwc.com/hunting/by-species/wild-hog/

"Black rifles" are commonly used for hunting wild hog in Florida and there are no magazine capacity limits that I can find while hunting this animal.

8. What would be the point of having "Fewer assualt weapons on the streets."?

Rifle crime did not increase after 2004, when the previous ban expired. In fact , crimes committed with rifles (as has all violent crime) have declined.
The proposed ban is moralizing, not crime fighting.

14. the first AWB absolutely increased the number of assault weapons on the street and dramatically.

It also raised the gun control issue from a relatively obscure issue that mattered to a handful of scattered Americans to a much higher level of prominence in our state and national elections. IOW, not one good god damned thing came of it.

26. "Fewer assualt weapons on the streets."

Assault weapons aren't being used by most criminals.

No knowing what the ban that sunsetted in 2004, I can't say how to make it better or more effective, other than to say more enforcement efforts.

If assault weapons are responsible for say 1% of crimes then perfect enforcement could at best reduce crime by 1%. That's assuming people simply give up if they can't get an assault weapon rather than picking up some other gun.

So we can spend billions and hope that it actually has an impact on the tiny minority of crimes these are used in or we can spend that money on something useful instead.

The authors of an editorial in the latest issue of the British Medical Journal have called for knife reform. The editorial, "Reducing knife crime: We need to ban the sale of long, pointed kitchen knives," notes that the knives are being used to stab people as well as roasts and the odd tin of Spam.

The authors of the essay - Drs. Emma Hern, Will Glazebrook and Mike Beckett of the West Middlesex University Hospital in London - called for laws requiring knife manufacturers to redesign their wares with rounded, blunt tips.

The researchers noted that the rate of violent crime in Britain rose nearly 18 percent from 2003 to 2004, and that in the first two weeks of 2005, 15 killings and 16 nonfatal attacks involved stabbings. In an unusual move for a scholarly work, the researchers cited a January headline from The Daily Express, a London tabloid: "Britain is in the grip of knives terror - third of murder victims are now stabbed to death." Dr. Hern said that "we came up with the idea and tossed it into the pot" to get people talking about crime reduction. "Whether it's a sensible solution to this problem or not, I'm not sure."
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/27/science/27knife.html?_r=3&

19. I think they considered it but never passed a law prohibiting such knives. ...

The regulations for carrying a knife in public are truly draconian over there. I would be in big trouble if I was caught carrying any of my pocket knives in that nation as they lock open and are considered a fixed blade knife. I probably would be thrown in jail for a long time for the true fixed blade I often carry in Florida.

24. Question number 3

What makes anyone think that if guns are banned that the criminals and the murderers are going to just "hand them over?"

The answer is easy. They won't. But law abiding citizen will be disarmed.

Here is food for thought. I have my concealed handgun license and my instructor was a federal agent. He made this point very clear: You are responsible for your own protection. If you ask any police officer, they will tell you the same thing, which is that they are Not your personal body guards, but they are only there to enforce the general law.

That opened my eyes. Hurricane Sandy victims in the outlying borroughs are quickly learning the value and i'm sure a new found respect for personal gun protection with all of the looting going on.